My Eurostar Prediction For Tsw 7

Cast your minds back to a screenshot of a blueprint of the class 373, now this is just speculation but maybe we are getting a Eurostar route with the class 373.I feel like there are plans bringing Eurostar the TSW though it could just be me but the blueprints hint something ???

thought it was in a April fools roadmap you know what DTG are like the class 700 comes to mind

 

If im correct but Eurostar does not supply licence and what do you expect exactly from a Eurostar route? HS1 to Paris or Brussels is not realistic so a 373 is not very useful right?!

 

too early though to rule it out i'd say IMO


SWR Wasn't prepared to hand their licence out but DTG only recently got the licence id say watch this space you never know

 

Please answer my question then you maybe realize that a 2hrs non-stop run London Paris or Brussels is not fun at all... Besides that the distance is not realistic.

 

same can be said for Trent valley that has the same problem and that is 1 hour, and yet here we are


on the point of distance it probally would be cut down to be fair knowing DTG so your probably right

 

Might not be for you, but the thought of driving between countries seems really exciting. You'd travel through a lot of different landscapes, and different styles of railway. Not to mention being in the gorgeous class 373 units.

Bonus points if the route starts from Waterloo instead of St. Pancras .

 

Good luck getting a Eurostar license and it would be far too big for a DTG project anyway.

 

I don't think it's SWR that DTG have the license with for TSW. I thought it was SWT (the previous TOC that ran from 1996 to 2017).

SWT and DTG have a historical working relationship having worked together on TSC content so it's not that much of a surprise that they appear to be working together again.

 

I stand corrected

 

The 373s will still be in service till at least 2031, and are currently being equipped with ETCS. The 374 are based on Siemens Velaro platform. We are more likely to see a DB BR 407/408 compared to a new French route or loco during TSW7. Then with some remodelling and/or custom formations and liveries, you can make your own inspired Eurostar train.

Additionally, I don't understand why people's first assumption about any Eurostar representation in this game is always to do with the channel tunnel. There are mainland Europe Eurostar services too. Not only that but, it can always come to the game as a loco DLC or gameplay pack for pre-existing routes like SEHS or KAH.

The most realistic outcome / only way to get the services if the license is truly unavailable is the Velaro coming sometime in TSW7 and they use that as a base for an unbranded "International High-speed train" DLC/Pack.

Either that or wait a minimum for 3 years for the new operators like e.g., Trenitalia, Gemini trains, and Virgin trains to enter and hear whatever their licensing policy is

 

Wasn't that added years ago at this point.
Don't think it's a hint but rather an easter egg

 

Exactly, but for some people it’s hard to maintain a sense of reality. And a route that takes 2 hours or more is completely unrealistic. London Paris is around 400km so that sets it more in perspective what you have to build...

 

First building a tunnel is a bizar amount of work but make the tunnel shorter is a bit bizar to "its the highlight of the route"... So i don't know how you try to sell this DLC?! "The DLC that combines the Uk and Europe via one of the most iconic landmarks but we have cut out a half of it" sounds not very promising right? Please be real such projects are impossible to build so accept that and please stop to give such bizar ideas to give you're ideas a valid point. I will not being rude (sorry if it sounds this way). You can think about London Lille Europe but that's not fun in therms of a timetable. 90% of trains does not stop there. And between Paris and London there is no suitable stop.

 

Quick reality check:

Eurostar - it's never happening, and a route of that scale would be well beyond the scope of a TSW route, and itwouldn't be fun for the majority of players. The Class 373 blueprint is an Easter egg, nothing more.

DTG never had a working relationship with South West Trains. All the DLC they released for TS when SWT was extant (Portsmouth Direct, the 444 and 455) was unlicensed. After the franchise ended the SWT brand ended up in the hands of the government, which is how DTG got the license for the TS 159, the second PDL and the BML. It's the same story here; they just got permission from the DfT to use the brand, same as with EMT as far as I'm aware.

 

Wasn't there loads of calls of a eurostar route in MSTS, they built it and basically no one liked it because of the tunnel?

Re SWT: I believe when SWT was operating it was like that two spidermen meme - Stagecoach said go to the DfT, DfT said go to Stagecoach.

 

It seems unlikely they’d do a uk through the tunnel section… but maybe something on the continental side … Brussels to Amsterdam / Lille to Paris?

still quite ambitious length wise, but a Dutch leg would build on existing route stock? French side would be limiting… potential to add Eurostar thayls services into the mix…

Would people enjoy the non UK / tunnel aspect if the routes? Not sure

 

Brussels Amsterdam i dont think so.... To build ETCS is a hell of a job.

 

A Eurostar would be a good DLC for a route we already have, SEHS, would really be the finishing touch to that route. Enough services used to stop at Ashford or Ebbsfleet to make it worthwhile, and we'd get some cool AI over the flyover at Ashford.

But it probably won't happen.

 

Eurostar does not stop in the UK after departure St Pancras. Between London and Paris its non stop and to Brussels a very few trains stops at Lille Europe

 

Yeah, I said “used to”.

 

They can always make them stop artificially at Ashford just as the XC 170 services in BCC stop at Blomsgrove even though they do not in real life, it'd make the route and St Pancras feel a lot busier

 

They don’t even need to do that. Just go back to 2019 when some did.

 

Okay nice a Eurostar train but build a whole extremely long and complex train for a 20min drive....
And stop trying to justify a product that’s simply nonsensical. It’s not a sensible idea, and no matter how many arguments you keep coming up with, I’m afraid it’s not going to get any better.

 

I think you’re confusing the user e_a_ with the OP! Because that user has just posted a comment and hasn’t, as you suggest, given several reasons.

And just because you don’t like the idea, that doesn’t mean you have to comment on it.

 

No hate but sorry if that wasn’t clear my argument obviously referred to several people who keep pushing the idea…And sure, I’d love to see a Eurostar train in the game, but I’m just using my brain and acknowledging that it’s simply unrealistic. Whether it would be fun or not is a completely separate matter.

A Hamburg to Munich route in the game would also be beautiful, but it’s totally unrealistic, right?

 

Driving the TGV between St Pancras and Ashford is quite fun - takes about half an hour which is similar to other HS runs in TSW. Several more services like that would be great, as would be seeing AI Eurostars passing you or passing through stations.

 

It would also be an excuse to add stuff like announcements to SEHS. Win win!

But I don’t think the licence is gettable

 

There was this anyway, to go along with the blueprint and the recent addition of Firefly to the third party program and their uplifting of that portion of the SEHS, who's to say there isn't a loco DLC pack coming?

 

That looks brilliant!!

 

There's no way that Eurostar model is official, surely

 

At best it would be a novelty and driving through the Chunnel would not be vastly different to the current HS1 sections. And if we got a route in France, I would much rather something iconic like the classic line along The Riviera.

 

SEHS is set in 2019. Eurostar still had stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford back then

 

I did hear AABS mention a passing interest in the Eurostar route in their Train Sim Society interview.

But I think that Easter egg image has been doing the round for years.

Although there seems to be a assumption that a Eurostar route would have to go all the way to Paris? How many services stop at Calais? The last time I was on a Eurostar in 2012 on the way to Lille, I'm fairly sure we stopped at Calais as one of the first stops after Ebbsfleet... Has Calais suffered the same fate as Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International in the post covid world?

 

After Corona all stops in the UK besides of St Pancras are suspended. The same for Calais. The only stop for London Brussels is Lille Europe (for a few trains) and Paris London does not stop anywhere. But to be honest is London Calais very attractive?

 

Eurostar (blue) route options:

London to Ashford
Pro: already an excellent route, a decent, varied, run. Excuse to give that route a polish and make it even better.
Con: Not a new route

Ashford to Calais
Pro: Dollands Moor and Calais yards, some interesting operations with Le Shuttle
Con: 30 minutes in a single bore tunnel, would need Le Shuttle too, access for developers very unlikely

Calais to Lille
Pro: Domestic TGVs (if Calais Ville is included as well)
Con: Boring scenery, no service variation

Lille to Paris
Pro: Very busy with TGVs, local traffic at the Paris end
Con: Quite dull, quite long, would need a lot of new rolling stock to justify it

Lille to Brussels
Pro: Quite an interesting run, alongside the classic line for parts
Con: Quite short, SNCB never been done, would need a lot of rolling stock to justify Brussels Midi

Brussels to Rotterdam
Pro: Long section on a very busy regular line, cool station at Antwerp
Con: As before with SNCB and Brussels. Underground stations a challenge. Would really need the branch to Breda. Only 374s can go beyond Brussels.

Rotterdam to Amsterdam
Pro: busy line, interesting scenery, some major stations
Con: Would really need the parallel classic line to make it interesting. That plus the performance make it ambitious. 373s not usable.

My vote: a DLC for SEHS.

 

Brussels Rotterdam Amsterdam are not very likely.... Matt has already confirmed that building ETCS would be very unlikely and a bizar amount of work to implement that in TSW.

 

I can't imagine that's real, the whole thing looks a bit short, the bogies look too large and the Eurostar logo is in the wrong font.

 

I swear down this game would be miles better if the devs didn't say "too much work" at everything. ETCS is becoming increasingly common and will continue to be rolled out over lots of different lines in the coming years. They'll have to do it eventually.

 

To be fair ETCS is very complex and not that simple as AWS for example to implement... Besides that its also way more difficult to drive with so for the most of the TSW users it's nearly impossible to use in a proper way. And turn it off is not a question on Level 2 of ETCS there are no signals so playing without is a bit difficult.

 

They have implemented systems in the past like TVM-430 that always function but do not interveine unless the safety systems are on.

 

Something like the Cambrian Line in Wales with relatively simple track layout and low service level would be a better testing ground for ECTS than jumping straight into high speed operations.

 

Sorry but TVM is totally different then ETCS... ETCS way more difficult and for less experienced players not a pleasant experience. DTG is hardly searching for a larger player base so ETCS will not reach that.

That is for players a low entry to learn the basics for sure but the problem is in the UK ETCS routes are more rare than on the mainland Europe so a UK full supervision ETCS is for a UK route what more difficult than in Europe. TFW has a line so far i know... Thats the only one in the UK??

 

Yes that’s the Cambrian Line from Shrewsbury (Sutton Bridge Junction) to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli.

 

The Thameslink core is ETCS too.

 

Ah yeah that's right but for example the Elizabeth line is for me more a metro/underground than a railway line.

 

It's not, they wouldn't have released a screenshot of it in that state and Eurostar wouldn't have approved the use of their logo with a generic, lowercase font. Also, it would have been headline news on the forum and other places where people make content about TSW. Even the briefest comparison with a real life photo will allow you to identify everything that's wrong with the panels so it was presumably generated by AI, which isn't very good at getting trains right as can be seen here, where it seems to have merged the face of a 373 with the body of a 374.

 

Since I have no RL comparison - I wonder how good is the implementation of ETCS in our polish train sim game? Seems to be manageble to build and players seem to have no propblems using it, too and drive it all the time.

 

How can you possibly write something like that?

According to jesper2805, all TSW users are too stupid to be able to drive a train using ETCS.
Yet ETCS is already included on the Lucerne–Sursee route, and that includes both Level 1 and Level 2.

 

Tbh the chances of seeing a 373 are slim to none but I'd love to see a Waterloo - Ashford International route. Runs would be pretty reasonable in length and there could be a mix of high-speed and low-speed running (depending when the route is set, either could be before HS1 so via Tonbridge or when HS1 was partially built). The 373 could then layer onto SEHS for those who want pure high speed runs. The timetable for W'loo - Ashford would be insane though.

 

i did find jesper2805’s comments rather insulting to the community as well. In fact, isn’t that the purpose of a simulator is to be able to learn the systems and that is what makes it different from a game? Anyway, i am sure implementing ETCS is not trivial, as I am sure implementing PZB and LZB had their challenges as well as integrating ATC and ACSES for US routes. But yet, I tend enjoy the U.S. and DE routes over the UK routes because of those safety systems.

ETCS level 1 is an overlay system to the existing infrastructure sort of similar to ACSES, and level 2 is removing line side signaling , the leap to level 3 with moving block approach would be a technical challenge to implement, but I can’t see how it would be too difficult for us mere mortals to learn from a driving perspective.